Two Brown Dogs at Home

23/10/2024

This is a survey on the very important topic both for our NZ cats and out NZ wildlife.
It is open to all - cat owner or not - so have a look and take the time to complete it if you can.

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=1083614837104629&set=a.701192708680179

🚨 Call for survey participants: Outdoor Access for Owned Cats 🚨

Companion Animals NZ (CANZ) has teamed up with UC Davis (USA) to explore public views on outdoor access for cats. We’re surveying both cat owners and non-cat owners in New Zealand to gain insights into how people house their cats and their thoughts on free-roaming cats’ environmental impact.

This research is key as pressure grows to keep cats indoors, and we want to understand how this affects cat welfare and wildlife conservation.

📢 Open to anyone 18+
📝 Complete the survey here: https://ucdavis.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cZVOIu3PSf41qQe

Help shape better resources for responsible cat management and animal welfare!

24/07/2024

Starting next month here at Two Brown Dogs at Home we will be donating to the Safe Beds for Pets programme.

I would love for some of our clients to consider a monthly or one-off donation to what I feel is one of the most essential charity organisations in Aotearoa New Zealand.

The family violence statistics for NZ are horrible. Clearly working to change that is critical, and in the meantime, helping in any way possible to support people of all genders to leave abusive situations.

Will you join is is supporting Pet Refuge if you are in a financial position to do so??

A place for pets to wait while their families leave abusive relationships. The Pet Refuge is turning three and celebrating the many animals and people they've helped to safety

29/05/2024

*URGENT URGENT post from the team at Their Voice NZ
The reason the original post is dated 2022 is because the owners originally wanted to rehome then.

Hazel & Peanut will be euthed tomorrow (Thursday) if homes can not be found for them.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=433199325536701&set=a.115724597284177

●BOTH DOGS HAVE BEEN SAVED●
**29/05/2024 - BOTH DOGS WILL BE EUTHANIZED TOMORROW MORNING (30/05/24) THEY CAN BE SEPRATED, ALSO WILL TRAVEL THE SOUTH ISLAND TO DROP OFF**

**EXPERIENCED HOMES ONLY**

**We are posting this on behalf of Haze and Peanuts owners**

Haze is very affectionate and cuddly, like humans more then other dogs.. tends to get defensive around food. Knows how to sit, shake paws, stay. Loves playing fetch, chasing sticks and going swimming. Good if walked alone but tends to pull on her lead. Not good with other animals. Haze gets grass reactions and swells up if stung by bees. She is okay to have an antihistamine when this happens.

Peanut is very affectionate, loves human interaction and other animals.. will play well one on one but has snapped at dogs in the past so needs to be watched. He knows how to shake paws, sit, wait. Peanut loves to play and adventure. Peanut pulls on a lead and try's to greet everyone.

We would like both dogs to be rehomed together if possible. They would not be suited for a home with younger children or other animals. They would need a fully fenced yard. Both dogs are de-sexed, microchipped and up to date with their vaccinations.

Please send the page a message if you think you'd be a suitable home for Haze and Peanut.

16/05/2024

Just a wee reminder to make sure your pet's microchip details are current.
Get them registered with New Zealand Companion Animal Register if they are not already.

https://www.odt.co.nz/star-news/star-districts/star-selwyn/paws-itive-outcome-family-missing-lincoln-feline?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR2PV2S9gSrBoWeTmF91bow-Np_Yr2f23kftzMpaZONG6KL7GQazn-lbMIk_aem_AQdulIe4RbXEo0_PFPSke_4ImxiCsgpYDmYWSKFghCEuSpe4mN97iSnJUMiz0lg1SCZY7Mc53sEuU9qizhYXMi7J

After being missing for 12 days, a Lincoln family thought they might never see their cat Fletcher again. But he turned up in Rangiora, about 45km...

08/04/2024

https://www.facebook.com/MyVetNurseNZ

Please share with family and friends in Christchurch! This is a young vet nurse that I began my vet nurse training with - she finished, I didn't! LOL
I would thoroughly recommend her as a great option for the types of care she offers.

Do click on the link to see her gorgeous photos of some clients.

Mobile Vet Nurse / Cat grooming 🐾
Affordable, convenient and stress free!
🐶🐱🐕🐰🐈🐹🐩🐈‍⬛

29/01/2024

This sweet tabby face is Tonks. Tonks and her family are some of my frequent flyers. Tonks is technically quite severely disabled with hip dysplasia. Not that she knows that, and not that you’d notice at first glance as she zooms around the house and garden. Of the three cats in her family, she is the most playful and active and can scale trees somewhat like SpiderCat!
An At Home service is perfect for Tonks, though, because it means she is in a familiar environment and knows exactly where she can successfully run, jump, and climb. Her mum Maggie and brother Alfie are very content lounging in their favourite sunny spots and having a visiting “Food Lady” turn up to keep the food bowls filled. For the times that their own human mum isn’t around, I have passed their stringent feline standards as a suitable alternative food slave!

24/01/2024

**Dogs and the heat**

What time of the day do you walk your dog?
I’ve been noticing a lot of humans & dogs out on walkies in the middle of the day recently. This is often not a good time for dogs to be out in the heat during summer. Dogs don’t have the same ability to lose heat through sweating like us humans do. Dogs only have a very few sweat glands, and these are on their paws and nose. One of the main ways dogs cool down is through evaporation across their tongue when they pant. As you can imagine, it’s quite difficult to cool down when the only area of evaporation is your tongue – even those with a tongue quite long enough to snaffle food off the bench and table!!

The other, and main ways, dogs lose heat is via contact with a cold surface, and by heat exchange through their skin. Of course, heat exchange only works when the outside temperature is cooler than the inside temperature of the dog!

Observe your dog’s behaviour when they are happy and comfortable on a walk at a cool time of the day early in the morning or later evening. This will help you to notice any behaviour changes during the hotter parts of the day. If you dog is slowing down, reluctant to walk, trying to walk or stand in the shady patches and/or panting heavily, it is time to stop walkies.

On these hot days also please remember to check the temperature of the surface your dog is walking on. Put your hand or your own bare feet on the surface. If you can’t handle around 5 seconds of contact neither can your dog’s paw pads.

I have found this veterinary website has nice clear information about dogs and heat. https://vetspecialists.co.uk/fact-sheets-post/davies-veterinary-specialists-guide-on-how-to-keep-hot-dogs-cool/

The photo is the main culprit at the Two Brown Dogs at Home base when any snaffling of food from the bench has been carried out .... 🤣 Even though she does not have a VERY long tongue.

22/01/2024

The handsome boy with the quirky ear styling is Buckie. Buckie was also a long-time client who has now departed for the Rainbow Bridge. In his younger days, Buckie & I had a weekly walkies meet-up on a day his mom could not get home for a break.
As Buckie got older and had medical needs, a big, busy boarding kennel wasn’t such a good match for him when she travelled for sport and family. So, he had exclusive sleepovers at my house with my two senior girls. We all move slowly around here! [Note: this is not part of my regular services but is occasionally available for a friendly but higher-needs dog who can no longer board.] We all miss you Bucks! I hope the couches up there at the Bridge are as comfy as mine.
Buckie’s cat sibling, Stanley, remains one of my clients, and after starting out in the typical cat fashion of dissing the stranger who turned up to feed him, Stanley and I are now great buddies.

19/01/2024

My service can cater for the smaller pets too. These two distinguished gentlemen are Morgan Furman and Manuel – described by his person as “the long haired gonky one”.
I had the good fortune to meet them and care for them a couple of times before they made that final journey. I did get wheeked at by Manuel and fully ignored by Morgan when I visited, apparently quite in character for both of them! They were very much loved little fellows and the last of a long line of piggies that their mum had in Australia and New Zealand. They also had a cat sibling Lily, who treated me with the distain that some – but by no means all! – of my feline clients show.

16/01/2024

You are right to think this is senior royalty! This is Lilith, an elderly girl who was one of my very first clients. She has since journeyed to the Rainbow Bridge and is much missed by her family.
Lilith is a great example of the kind of flexible care that my service can provide. When her people were travelling for work, I visited her each morning to tempt her with a variety of food and to administer her thyroid medication. Then her Grandpa visited her at night for dinner service and more cuddles before tucking her in for the night. Her family found it very helpful to have an experienced carer to provide support with Lilth’s medication and to share in keeping her as well and healthy as she could be in her final months.

16/01/2024

My third holiday season is slowing down now, and I'd like to say THANK YOU!!!

Thank you to the many loyal, respectful, trusting, and trustworthy clients who have welcomed me into your homes to care for your furry and feathery family members.
I value the opportunity to interact with your loved pets and meet their needs - feeding, cleaning up after, giving medication and the occasional vet trip, walking, playing and hanging out with them when you can not. And not only those essential pet care tasks; additionally, I've watered gardens and pot plants (and occasionally forgotten to water pot plants - sorry Maggie's mum!! :D), rescued strawberries from drowning (you know who you are!), put out bins, collected mail, opened & closed curtains, turned lights on and off, collected mail & courier parcels, and a multitude of other small jobs and problem-solving tasks (Sanji's humans - I'm sure your door was out to get me!!).

Thank you not just for the opportunity to care for your valued pets - a good number of whom have been in their senior years - and the trust to enter your homes, but for the cookies, chocolates, and jars of preserves & jam left for me, the invites to use the coffee machine or make myself a cuppa, the little Christmas gifts - for me AND my pets! - the veggies and fruit from your gardens and eggs from your chooks. And for paying on time and referring friends & family - I had two streets this summer with neighbour clients - three in a row in one street!

You all have made my little crazy idea for a business what it is and together, we will continue to make sure your pets are happy and healthy and having the time of their lives.

Look out over the next few weeks for the stories of some of my beautiful clients., including some who have now made their journey to the Rainbow Bridge.

04/01/2024

We've had sadness at the Two Brown Dogs at Home base.

A loyal, quietly - and sometimes loudly! - present companion through the last six or so challenging years.
Forever home with me since 11/1/17
Now gone to rest and play with her friend Tip who we lost earlier this year due to cancer after only 8 months here.
It's been a tough year.

Thank you to all you lovely clients out there whose critters I can care for & cuddle and share the love with.

02/01/2024

Get your bookings in now for January and February - especially for Waitangi weekend. At this stage I have spaces available throughout summer.

Send me a message to enquire. Base rate starts at $15 for one visit per day to cats and small pets. However exact pricing will depend on the needs of your pet, which we figure out during a free 'Meet & Greet.' In most cases, payment is expected, by internet banking, in advance.

14/12/2023

If your furry family don't enjoy the beach or the bach quite as much as you, and would rather have the comforts of home, my service is what you pet needs. I visit once or twice daily to give them all the attention they deserve.
Enquire now for January bookings. Also two spaces still available for New Year's weekend.

04/12/2023

Two Brown Dogs at Home can cater for all sizes and shapes of furry, feathery, and scalely family members.
Introducing a new up & coming client!!
This is Caramello and they are my first feathery client who is quite so tiny. My standard feathery clients are chook-sized!!

I am looking forward to spending time getting to know my little feathered friend later in the summer. Thank you to Caramello's humans for trusting your littlest family member to my care.

Remember I will never post your pet's photo while you are actually away.

25/11/2023

Pet Refuge is a - sadly - needed organisation.
Do two things today.
1) Donate, so that your donation can be doubled.
2) Check in on a friend who you have heard from in a while or whose situation you might be concerned about. Ask them how they REALLY are.

Domestic violence increases at Christmas. Make sure that your home is a safe space for friends and family, and that they know they can reach out to you if in need.

Your monthly donation will cover shelter expenses such as a safe place to sleep at night, warmth, bedding, enrichment and exercise, transport, vet healthcare, animal behaviour therapy, and expert animal carers and case workers who will be a vital part of the shelter.

05/11/2023

I now have some limited spaces available over the Christmas period. A sad sad happening when I have precious senior clients is that some of them leave us for the Rainbow Bridge. 🥹
A recent departure means that I have a holiday season vacancy. Change of circumstances for another family has opened up a second space.
If you are needing pet care for your creatures in the comfort of their own home, please message me soon! These spaces will not last long. Depending what area of town you are in, I may be able to slip another creature or two into the schedule. Flick me a message today to enquire.

23/09/2023

This is a great way to support a local rescue that is supporting our local critters and people.
Buy a calendar, have cute critters on your wall all year, and support a fantastic cause!! What could be better?
Please share with your friends, and order this Christmas presents for your pet-loving pals today!